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Iowa has surpassed 1,000 cases of COVID-19. Here's what the data tells us.

It's been about a month since Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds' March 8 announcement that three Iowans had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Since then, the virus has spread throughout the state — gradually at first, then accelerating in recent weeks. On Tuesday, the state announced that more than 1,000 Iowans have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

The Register tracked those cases using data from the Iowa Department of Public Health and the governor's daily news conferences and releases. Here's the picture the released data from those 1,000 cases has painted:

The virus has spread throughout the state, but certain areas are hotspots

As of Tuesday morning, 78 of Iowa's 99 counties had reported at least one case of COVID-19. Those counties are spread throughout the state, but the counties least affected appear to be rural areas in northwest and southern Iowa.

Eastern Iowa has the most cases, in part because of outbreaks at nursing homes in Linn, Tama and Washington counties.

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The sheer volume of cases doesn't tell the whole story. Polk County has the second-highest number of cases, but it's also by far the state's most populous county. Allamakee County, for example, has about five times as many cases per capita as Polk County.

About one quarter of known cases have resulted in hospitalization

As of Tuesday, about 25% of Iowans with known COVID-19 cases had been hospitalized at some point. About half of those are still hospitalized, and about 40% have already been discharged and are recovering.

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However, this data lags behind the state's other coronavirus data as the Department of Public Health investigates each case. The actual number of cases requiring hospitalization is likely lower, as those with mild symptoms or asymptomatic cases may not be counted.

The virus's peak is still several weeks away in Iowa

Projections from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evalution suggest coronavirus will peak in Iowa in late April, with around 17 deaths per day at that time. The institute projects 420 total deaths due to coronavirus in Iowa. That's a revision down from an earlier forecast that warned more than 1,000 Iowans could die due to the virus.

But that relatively good news doesn't mean Iowans can relax. With the virus ramping up to its projected peak this month, Iowans should continue to follow CDC guidelines and practice good hygienic habits, such as hand-washing and social distancing.